Book Review – Defender of the Wall by Chris Thorndycroft @cthorndycroft

About the Book

Britain, 390 A.D. As a barbarian prince fostered by a Roman family below Hadrian’s Wall, Cunedag’s loyalties have always been conflicted. His own people despise the Romans with a passion, yet he has grown to manhood among them and is now a cavalry officer stationed on the Wall. 

But Rome’s grip on Britain is slipping and the north, sensing weakness, explodes in all-out rebellion. As the Picts sweep down to harry the frontier, the province marshals its forces to fight back. And Cunedag is presented with a difficult choice; continue to defend Rome or rule his people as a free king.

Format: ebook (308 pages) Publisher:
Publication date: 4th March 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

Defender of the Wall is the first book in the ‘Dragon of the North’ trilogy telling the story of the legendary King Cunedag who went on to build the Kingdom of Gwynedd from the ashes of post-Roman Britain. Although a fan of Roman age fiction, I confess I’d never heard of Cunedag before reading this book but that didn’t stop me from becoming completely enthralled in the events described in the story.

The book opens with Cunedag, now an aged warrior with a clutch of sons, looking ahead to what may be his final battle. Soon though we’re travelling back in time to his youth as a prince of the Votadini, one of the tribes who struck an alliance with the Roman Empire following the defeat of the uprising known as the Great Conspiracy. The alliance comes at a price though as the King of the Votadini is forced to give up one of his sons to be fostered by a Roman commander. Effectively, Cunedag becomes a hostage to ensure the Votadini do not participate in any future uprising. Not everyone agrees with this compliant approach, even within the Votadini. They along with other tribes sense the Roman Empire’s focus is increasingly on protecting its borders elsewhere and this may be the chance to drive them from their territory.

Fast forward some years and Cunedag has benefited from Roman military training and is in charge of an elite cavalry unit. But when signs appear the long feared tribal uprising is beginning, Cunedag finds himself in a difficult position. He believes any attempt to defeat the Roman army will end in disaster with thousands killed needlessly and at the same time does not relish the prospect of fighting his own people, now led by someone with a very different attitude towards Rome. Even more worryingly, the tribes of the area have new allies who are utterly ruthless, whipped up by a fanatical religious leader. Yet he’s also an asset to Rome, someone who might be able to dissuade other tribes from joining the rebellion or even persuade them to ally themselves with the Roman army, itself a mixed bag of people from across the Empire.

But less about the history, you want to know about the action, don’t you? Well there’s plenty of it with some exciting battle scenes during which Cunedag needs all his military prowess. And on more than one occasion he puts himself in the front line on some dangerous missions requiring subterfuge, bravado and not a little luck. Hey, let’s go creep into the enemy’s camp tonight. He’s someone who leads by example, earning loyalty and respect from those he commands.

Defender of the Wall is a thrilling combination of action and historical detail. If you’re a fan of the Roman age novels of Simon Scarrow, Simon Turney, Gordon Doherty or Adrian Goldsworthy, I’m pretty sure you will enjoy this. If you need any more persuading, you can read an action-packed excerpt from Defender of the Wall here. Hurry up though because the next book in the trilogy, The Pictish Crown, will be published on 30th April 2025.

I received a digital review copy courtesy of the author.

In three words: Compelling, action-packed, authentic
Try something similar: The Hollow Throne by Tim Leach

About the Author

Chris Thorndycroft is a British writer of historical fiction, horror and fantasy. His early short stories appeared in magazines and anthologies such as Dark Moon Digest and American Nightmare. His first novel under his own name was A Brother’s Oath – book one in the Hengest and Horsa trilogy. He currently lives in Norway with his wife and two children. He also writes books inspired by the trashier side of pop culture like B movies and pulp magazines under the pseudonym P. J. Thorndyke.

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